Oh Lord, I'm shinning!

I have rediscovered that I surely do LOVE to train!

Today was time for my first Computrainer speed session of the 2010 build. I borrowed a bunch from what Coach Pete taught me in 2007, specifically in this case from a Canadian National Team w/o. This w/o incorporated a couple of technical elements and a mixed-mode ladder section. Here is what it looked like:

60 min wu on my stationery trainer and then hopped on my CT for the 75 min CTSS:

10 min easy spin

10 min single leg drills: 3x (1 min left/30 sec both/1 min right/30 sec both). This w/o is designed to build the small coordinating muscles at the top of the thigh. This more complete muscle recruitment, especially of the "pulling-up" or "de-weighting" muscles over time leads to a smoother, more circular pedalling stroke which allows one to achieve higher pedalling efficiency and thus a higher average power output relative to peak power. Today, this was cumbersome and a bit painful--lots of rust to work off here!

10 min high cadence. by high I mean I was trying to target 110-120 rpm and today i averaged 111 rpm. This is strickly a neural-muscular oriented drill designed to make it easier to generate a given angular velocity during the stroke.

25 minute mixed mode ladder. This is the "meat" of the w/o. By mixed, I mean the time and the wattage for each segment are moving in oppossite directions. In this case I was descending on time and ascending on power. Today I used a 2:1 work/rest ratio and utilized pretty modest power targets to ease me back into the world of speed. Here are the specifics:

-5 min @ 220 watts/2.5 min easy spin
-4 min @ 230 watts/2 min easy spin
-3 min @ 250 watts/1.5 min easy spin
-2 min @ 270 watts/ 1 min easy spin
-1 min @ 310 watts/.5 min easy spin

All of these watt numbers were minimum targets for each segment and I exceed them by several watts in practice. while not easy (that is the point after-all--to not be easy) I fould this w/o comfortably within my current fitness level and so will build upward from this fairly quickly in the weeks ahead. A few weeks down the line I'll do a function threshold test to better set my wattage targets but this will do for now.

10 more minutes of high cadence. the second high cadence section is always one of my favorites because for some reason it always is easier than the first (some type of neural-muscular learning effect) and indeed I averaged 117 rpm.

Then a warm down--nice!

The workout was helped immensely by a nice Chemical Brothers mix....

can you hear me now, like I'm hearing you?
is it sweet and pure and true?
oh Lord, I'm shinning!